Intense challenge:Serena Williams unleashes a fiery challenge directed at Harrison Butker. During the ESPY Awards…
The ESPY award winners typically dominate the headlines, but this year, the focus shifted to someone who left the event without a trophy: Harrison Butker.
The incident occurred recently when former tennis star Serena Williams, who hosted the event alongside actress and comedian Quinta Brunson of “Abbott Elementary” fame, and her sister Venus Williams took the stage. Together, they emphasized the significance of women’s sports, urging viewers to appreciate them not as “women’s” sports but simply as “sports.”
Venus Williams encouraged viewers, saying, “So, enjoy women’s sports just like you would any other sports, because they are sports.”
Serena Williams then interjected, “Except you, Harrison Butker; we don’t need you.”
This remark was met with a mix of applause and boos, and Brunson added, “Not at all. Like, never.”
Butker was present at the ceremony but was not shown on camera when mentioned.
The Super Bowl champion and devout Catholic responded the following day. “I thought Mrs. Williams was an excellent host and commend her for using her platform to express her beliefs on various topics,” he told NBC News. “Sports are meant to unite us all, and at an event honoring a diverse group of accomplished men and women, she chose to exclude those with whom she disagrees from supporting fellow athletes.”
The trio appeared to take issue with Butker’s widely discussed speech at Benedictine College earlier in May. Their onstage comments suggested they viewed his support for his wife, who he described as embracing the role of homemaker, as contradictory to their passion for women’s sports.
